CALGARY, ALBERTA, September 26, 2011 -After
four days of gloomy weather, the sun finally came out over the
solar village on Sunday afternoon.
Canada's team has already shown an estimated 7000 people through
the Cenovus TRTL solar home - more than any other team so far in
the U.S. Department of Energy's 2011 Solar Decathlon.
Until October 2, the TRTL, along with 18 other student-designed
solar homes, will be open to the public on West Potomac Park in
Washington, DC. The houses are undergoing rigorous testing while
the teams host a series of special events to demonstrate the
functionality of their homes.
Immediately following the engineering juried tour and a special
visit from Canada's Ambassador to the U.S. Gary Doer on Friday
morning, the TRTL team opened up the house to the rain-drenched
public. Solar-power professionals, alternative energy enthusiasts,
and the generally curious flowed through the home as Canada's team
shared stories and answered questions.
"The most common questions I get are 'What is the floor made
of?' (cork) and 'What kind of animal hide is on the bed?'
(buffalo)," said Nichole van Steenbergen, sponsor relations manager
and a final-year student in the Master of Science in Sustainable
Energy Development program at the University of Calgary.
Tareq Baker, building information modeling lead and a PhD
candidate in Environmental Design, lost his voice from speaking
with so many people.
"The elements from Aboriginal culture we have incorporated are
making an impact and people are showing interest," said Mostafa
Sabbagh, interdisciplinary coordinator for the team and a PhD
candidate in Environmental Design.
"The decor is really appropriate. No one
needs to tell people they're entering a First Nations home - they
can tell as soon as they walk in."
As part of the competition, each team is required to host two
dinner parties and a movie night for their neighbours in the solar
village.
On Monday night, Canadian team members Johann Kyser and Chris
Fry will host VIP guests Dr. Reg Crowshoe, the team's spiritual
advisor, and his wife Rose as well as two decathletes from each of
the three guest teams to a feast of Aboriginal cuisine including
roast bison with wild rice, bannock and berries.
Tuesday night, the team will host a movie night where a
neighbouring team will assign points based on the usability of the
home theatre system. On Wednesday, the team will prepare and serve
a Canadian contemporary dinner for yet another group of guests, who
will also enjoy violin music provided by the team's sponsorship
lead Carolyn Parker.
Results from the juried competition begin Tuesday afternoon with
the affordability results, followed by architecture on Wednesday,
engineering on Thursday, and communications on Friday.
The team will continue to host public tours from 10 am to 2 pm
Monday to Friday and from 10 am to 5:30 pm on Saturday and Sunday.
The awards ceremony for the entire competition is scheduled for
Saturday, October 1 (time TBD).
The University of Calgary team currently sits in eleventh place,
though team members are still perfecting the home's systems in an
effort to gain more points in measured contests such as hot water
pull, comfort zone and energy balance.
To follow Canada's score, visit the Solar Decathlon current
standings page: http://www.solardecathlon.gov/scores.html .
Recap from the weekend
Highlights from the weekend included a special visit from
Canada's Ambassador to the U.S. Gary Doer on Friday morning and
public storytelling event by Dr. Reg Crowshoe, the team's
spiritual-cultural advisor and former chief of the Piikani Nation,
at the National Museum of the American Indian on Friday
afternoon.
On Saturday evening, ConocoPhillips Canada sponsored a special
event at the National Museum of the American Indian to promote
dialogue among industry, academia, native communities, government
and foreign relations on issues of Aboriginal housing and
innovation.
The evening wrapped up with a special presentation by Dallas
Arcand, an internationally renowned hoop dancer from Calgary. Visit
http://solardecathlon.ca/news/a-night-at-the-museum
for a video from the event, the most recent episode of 'Solar
Hero'.
Coming up this week
The team is looking forward to receiving the results from the
juried tours throughout the week, hosting special events for their
neighbours in the TRTL home, and attending a special event at the
Embassy of Canada on Thursday evening.
The 2011 Solar Decathlon, hosted by the U.S. Department of
Energy and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, challenges
student teams from around the world to design, construct and
operate energy-efficient solar-powered homes.
The University of Calgary student-led Cenovus TRTL (pronounced
'turtle') is Canada's only entry into this year's competition.
TRTL, which stands for "Technological Residence, Traditional
Living", addresses critical issues in Aboriginal housing in Canada
and was designed in collaboration with the Treaty 7 First Nations
of Southern Alberta.
See also GLOBE-Net article "University of Calgary fields soleTeam Canada entry
at Solar Decathlon 2011"